Faculty Profiles
Department Chair, Visual Arts & Design
Program Coordinator & Associate Professor, Photography
Christopher Kern has been shooting and producing commercial photography projects since 2003. He holds an MFA in Photography from the prestigious Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Along with his freelance photography work, he has been utilizing his MFA as a photo instructor since 2009. His photographic work has been featured in the industry by; PDN, CMYK, IPA, and the APA. Photographically he is looking to create imagery that is – aspirational yet attainable. His true passion is for the people he encounters, whether as a portrait subject, fellow creative, student, or stranger. While his commercial work has taken him all over the United States and Internationally – He calls Riverside home, where he lives with his wife, Nikki, and daughter Eva James.
951.552.8150 + ckern@calbaptist.edu
Office Hours are Available by Appointment.
M.F.A., Photography - Art for Commerce; Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
B.A., Photo Communications. Minor, Business Administration; California State University Fullerton
Christine Lee Smith, MFA
Instructor of Photography
Christine Lee Smith is an award-winning portrait photographer in Southern California. Smith received her MFA in 2020 from Azusa Pacific University. Smith’s research interests lie in photography’s relationship to embodiment and identity, and she has presented original papers on photography’s relationship to gender, as well as photography’s relationship to death, at CIVA biennials in 2019 and 2021. Smith received an honorable mention in the 17th Julia Margaret Cameron Award and was a finalist in the Taylor Wessing National Portrait Gallery award in 2019. Her work has appeared in the Duncan Miller Gallery, Gallery 825, and the Museum of Latin American Art.
M.F.A., Visual Art - Photography, Azusa Pacific University
David Bess, MFA
Adjunct Professor of Photography
David Bess has had a camera in his hand for most of his life. He has operated his studio for over 35 years. He received a B.A. in Photography from the University of La Verne with Summa Cum Laude and departmental honors. He joined the photography department faculty the year following commencement, teaching courses that included topics such as introduction to digital photography, documentary photography, visual literacy, and photojournalism. In addition, he was responsible for helping develop and direct the senior project program for graduating photo majors. David would receive his M.F.A. in Visual Arts from Azusa Pacific University. He holds memberships with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the Society for Photographic Education (SPE), and the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). David’s work currently focuses on creating colorful abstractions with a sense of whimsy or humor.
M.F.A., Visual Art - Photography, Azusa Pacific University
B.A., Photography, University of La Verne